Any solutions for severe constipation?

Sonia - posted on 06/14/2011
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She is 16 months old. I give her jarred prunes still, apple juice and the pediatrician told me to give her mineral oil as well. This all works but if I miss a day or I dont give her enough of one thing, she is in extreme pain!! Could there be something else going on with her?

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Lise - posted on 06/15/2011

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Agree with most of these posts, too... I would caution you against giving extra stuff (BESIDES changing her diet) to make her poop. If it's happened a lot in the past, her body may be waiting for it to make her poop.

It was the miracle cure when prunes, apple juice, karo syrup and every other attempt failed. Available at most Walmarts. Rice milk made a night and day difference for my daughter. She used to bleed and scream. After a week or so on the rice milk, she was a whole new girl.

I agree with the one person who said something about a food diary and keep track of what she eats and when she eats it this way you can keep her from eating the constipating foods. My little one is 6 months and she is like that just starting out on cereal and fruits but she can't have them all the time maybe once a day or every other day then I will be giving her lots of water and if it gets really bad I give her Little Tummys brand by Little Remedies Stimulant Laxative drops don't be scared of the color cause it looks disgusting but it worked and my little one was constipated for a week not good for a baby...Or try stewed fresh fruit like peaches nectarines and apricots they work good your little one might like the fruit better..Hope I helped some...

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Tammy - posted on 07/18/2011

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Try adding some liquid magnesium to her milk or juice. It is completely tasteless and a natural laxative. Both my sons suffer from cronic constipation and they were starting to become laxative dependent so I tried the magnessium and it seem to work. Should also drink lots of water.

Try adding some liquid magnesium to her milk or juice. It is completely tasteless and a natural laxative. Both my sons suffer from cronic constipation and they were starting to become laxative dependent so I tried the magnessium and it seem to work.

My son had this issue when he was 6 months until about 3 years old. I took him in and nothing was wrong he just got badly constipated. I was told to lower his iron intake for a bit (which I know is important) and it worked like a charm. He was pooping in no time! I also used Karo Syrup in his bottles and sippie cups. Switched to a Low Iron Enfamil and it eventually worked out.

Not sure if there is something else going on but I would consider her diet. Is she eating a lot of food that could cause he problems. My son went thru a spell of constipation which we fould was caused by too much oatmeal. Seems weird, I know. Anyway he doesn't have that problem anymore because he eats a banana a day and he also LOVES the Sunsweet Ones. they are dried prunes that are individually wrapped and quite tasty. They are dried out like regular prunes. He has been eating them as a snack about three times a week since he was your child's age. Its worth a try.

my best friends daughter gets very constipated due to cows milk. the dr gave her stool softeners and now she feels soooo much better! she still must have them everyday though, otherwise in pain and doesn't sleep well.

for those of you who have babies still on formula.. what helped for us when Benjamin was that little was to replace one ounce of the water we used to mix his formula with one ounce of prune juice. It really helped!!

for those of you who have babies still on formula.. what helped for us when Benjamin was that little was to replace one ounce of the water we used to mix his formula with one ounce of prune juice. It really helped!!

My daughter had this problem and we cut out bananas and cheese to start. We made sure she drank plenty of water inbetween meals. We gave her miralax periodically to help her out for the next few months. She is now 2 and we still avoid most cheeses and give her lots of water. She rarely gets constipated. The dr. also recommended 2 tsp of dark karo syrup in 2 oz of water or milk to get things moving. We did this when she seemed to be in pain and it always worked.

Chandra, could you possibly try adding the syrup to her food instead of a drink if you think she would notice and reject the sweetness? Maybe a spoonful mixed in through her cereal or something, along with some fruit which might help to hide the taste?

So my daughter has always been what they call - a pellet pooper - they are not super hard, but all made up of little pellets stuck together (sorry for the graphic TMI)

She always has a hard time pooping, her eyes tear up and she has to push pretty hard. She usually poops every day or every other day, but I worry that she is going to tear herself or get hemmoroids (yes, I know another little girl who was 3 and had them, it can happen!)

She eats a TON of fruit - peaches, pears, pluots, strawberries, apples once in a while and bananas once in a while.

I saw the PP suggestion for using 1 TBSP of Karo Syrup in every drink. The problem I have with that is that my DD does not like really sweet stuff. She only drinks water, maybe 1 lemonade or OJ a day, and decaf, unsweetened, fruit flavored iced teas. Once in awhile she will have a vitamin water. She drinks about 6-8 onces per drink

I'm SURE she would notice the sweetness of the Karo Syrup in every drink

I don't want to use laxatives! I have used pedialax once or twice and the rootbeer flavored stool softener - which made her poop but it was still harder

I think I will copy ALL of the ideas, and try to figure out what will work best.

I also can't try the Lactulose recommended above as my daughter is severely lactose intolerant and only gets lactose free milk!

Hi Sonia! Im Karen i've got 3 kids on my own from my experience always check the milk formula probably the milk is so strong from her belly. And juices always toned down with water coz even baby juice got too much sugar on it. most of all give them plenty of water. In my fridge always got baby suppositories, I only give them to relieve pressure when they do the push.I hope this information can help you. cheers

I have this problem with my son. It's awful experience for BOTh mommy and baby. the best thing I find that works, *and I mean my kid used to SCREAM in pain from his stool being the size of my fist**I've talked to my pediatrician and I use what's called LAX A DAY. you can get it at shoppers, and what I do, is use very little in a full sized plastic juice container, I use my magic bullet and buy frozen fruit *(no sugar added) and then mix that up with prune nectar ***NECTAR! it really works, if you're interested send me a message and I'll give you some of my recipes. But you can probably just gear your own to whatever your little princess like eg. apple/prune... peach/prune.It really works, my son went from not having a bowel movement in almost 6-8 days to going 2 times a day now. BEST OF LUCK!

pear juice is hard to find. Don't know where you are, but here (I live in Australia) it is always in the tin section of the supermarket, with the nectars, rather than in with the bottled juice. But it really does do wonders.

I had the same problem with my daughter, we had to stop giving her cheese and bananas and to help with the current problem her doctor suggested pear juice because it's super sweet and it works really well!! gerber is the only company I've found that makes it. good luck!

hey i have 3 kids age 6,2, and 6mnths they all suffer from constipation before they were on solids my eldest girl has severe constipation, go to your doctor and get movicol paedatric its a powder you put in there juice or milk and makes them go regular with ease no 2 people r the same so u need to find the dose that works for you as too much can make too soft too little can make no difference and can still be hard hope this helpsxx

my boys are constipated from day one. One is almost 4 years old and the other one is 16 months old. I ended up taking to a specialist, and my 16 months old takes Lactulose twice a day to help him, and my 3 years old just startes taking Marilax. For both I change the dose up and down as needed, and some days They don't need to take. Helps them and what is more important that many pediatricians do not tell us, if they are constipated, they tend to HOLD theyer feces and just let out a little bit, what causes it to back up in theyer intestines. It is normal for them to be constipated, and a little medical help for the time being is the best you can do. Talk to her pediatrician and try lactulose. It is just a sweet syrup that helps her go N# 2 without pain. I totaly recomend. My children are happier and they don't have pain anymore. Plus, if she is constipated, that can also make hard on you later to pottytrain her. Ps: sorry for my mistakes, english is my second language, and I still have a lot to learn.

Lots of water. My daughter is 2 and recently has been having a lot of trouble with constipation - mainly since the dry, cooler weather began and she has been drinking less water. She has been asking for milk constantly but I sometimes have to deny her that and make her have some water instead. Or pear juice is good too. Other than that, we have really upped her fruit intake. I stew up pears, apples and sultanas, strawberries, etc, and add it to her breakfast every day. She has been having porridge for breakfast too, which is fairly high in fibre and mixed with the fruit is even better. We have switched from white bread to wholemeal for sandwiches, followed by fresh fruit (either an apple, pear or some strawberries usually, as these are her favourites), fruit and yoghurt for afternoon tea and lots of vegetables at dinner time (either fresh or frozen is fine). We have been trying to limit the milk to mealtimes, and only give water or pear juice the rest of the day. She was also having a lot of pain, crying every time she did a poo but since we've got strict on the diet she has been a lot better. Today she had the first hard one she's had for several weeks, and I think that's because she hasn't had enough water the last few days and actually went a couple of days without doing a poo at all. She went 4 times today - the first two were hard, the next two weren't so she's back to normal. Just really keep up the water and pear juice, and add fruit to EVERYTHING. Stewing it is great because you can put it in things like breakfast, yoghurt, desert, etc if she's not a big fruit eater, and also stewing it makes it absorb a lot of water so she is getting more moisture that way too. And when all else fails, we sometimes give her some coloxyl drops before bedtime but only when really necessary.

Our gasteroenterologist told me that Miralax is not habit forming so you can use it everyday. You'll want to call your ped. for dosing amounts though. If you are going to do something, like give her Miralax, prunes etc. try to give it in the morning at the same time, allowing enough time for it to work through her system without having to leave the house. Most people's bodies have bm's around the same time everyday. This will help her body to "know" it's time to go and help her if she might be holding it back for some reason, which creates constipation. If you are not wanting to try Miralax, then go to the store and look for PRUNE NECTAR (try to get without added sugar) If you cannot find prune nectar, buy prune juice in a jar. Simmer the contents of the jar to half the volume. In other words, if you start with one quart, simmer it down to one pint. Refrigerate.

At breakfast, mix three tablespoons of the prune nectar with 1/2 cup Tropicana or freshly squeeze orange juice.

Start your breakfast with this mixture. Then giver her a regular breakfast but try to get her to have something warm, like tea if she'll drink it (my son loves tea with honey, although I can't remember at what age kids can have honey). You could try to warm up her prune juice/orange juice drink too. If this does not work the first day, repeat for two or three days. On the fourth day if this does not work, then insert a glycerin suppository (get in drugstore) and hold it in for one minute (this sounds hard with a 16 mos old). If it still doesn't work, do the same thing the next day. It would not hurt on the first day you try the glycerin suppository after breakfast to use another one before going to bed. Apparently it may take almost a month to create a bm pattern. However, most of the children in our group responded in a short time without the suppository.

Most people (kids included) don't get half the fiber they need in their diets. There are quite a few high fiber fruits such as apples, pears, blueberries, raspberry that are great for toddlers. Also make sure that any breads or cereals are high in fiber (Multigrain cheerios instead of regular cheerios), high fiber bread and add bran buds to muffins or mashed potatoes. Also make sure she gets lots of water (water down the juice) and a good amount of activity. If she is still eating baby cereal, the iron mixed with the calcium can make her constipated......just thing of your prenatal vitamins. Use the Mirilax as a last resort if you can but check with your pediatrician first.

I just had a similar conversation with a mom tonight. I work at a pharmacy, and the pharmacist definitely does not recommend any sort of laxative on a regular basis because of dependency. One thing he always recommends you can use is Karo syrup. It is not something you can become dependent on; he said to just add a tablespoon to every drink. Hope this helps!

Miralax is wonderfu!! My son was on it, and I was told it was not a laxative he would become dependent on. I agree with the other suggestions on here too , to look for a probable food issue you can avoid and then not need to give her extra stuff, but if that doesnt work, then you might want to talk to your doctor about Miralax every day. You can start daily, and then adjust the amount/ frequency as you feel is needed by your LO. It really does work well!

Whats her diet? There's a lot of binding stuff in a toddler diet, pastas, rice, oatmeal, bread. Try apricot nectar, you buy it in a can at the store and add some to her juice, it works great and tastes good. If worse comes to worse, try an enema to relieve her pain, but I would stay away from any kind of laxative unless a doctor says to.

My 15 mo DD has constipation issues as well. She has had them since she was born. I was hoping she'd "grow out" of it but unfortunately not. I only give her prunes/prune juice when I notice her poop is starting to get hard again. I watch her diet very closely and try to keep it as well-rounded as possible. Lots of fruits, water, even greens. She'll eat anything so that helps. :)Keeping the diet steady is important because their little bodies take time to adjust to something new added. You definitely don't want her to get used to needing a laxative or extra measures to poop. I hope your little one gets straightened out soon. It's so sad when they are in that situation and you can't explain to them what's going on. :(

does she drink water? my son is 21 months and if he doesn't have a certain amount of water in a day (no less then two full sippy cups) he's really constipated as well...just another thought. he's been like this since about 10 months

my daugther has been like that since she was 6 months.And after trying many things.The doctor told me about Miralax.It works great.But i have to give it to her every single day or she will get constipate .Now she is going to be 4 and she still taking it.

Hi, maybe have a look at what she is eating. Keep a food diary, she may have an intolerance eg. Dairy / wheat / gluten. My 17 month old is similar but can't find a doctor that will really look at the problem.